Top three pound-for-pound fighters (Boxing)

[keithlewis]

1. MANNY PACQUIAO
Welterweight titlist
Record: 52-3-2, 38 KOs
Age: 32

Hits: Pacquiao, the only eight-division titleholder in boxing history, is the face of the sport and its most transcendent active fighter. And because of that fame and the fact that he is also a congressman in the Philippines who has Washington connections, he recently found himself in a private Oval Office meeting with President Obama. How many fighters can claim that? And Pacquiao likely will become an even bigger figure now that his May 7 Showtime pay-per-view fight is being heavily marketed and promoted by sister network CBS, which reaches more than 100 million homes. Pacquiao is carrying boxing on his shoulders right now, and in terms of influence and popularity, nobody else is even close.

Misses: Shane Mosley. If only Pacquiao were facing an opponent on May 7 who hadn't looked absolutely horrible in his past two fights -- a wipeout loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and a desultory draw with Sergio Mora.



2. FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR.
Welterweight
Record: 41-0, 25 KOs
Age: 33

Hits: If and when Mayweather (who turns 34 on Feb. 24) comes back to the ring -- he's closing in on a year of inactivity, at which point he will be dropped from the rankings -- he knows there is a gargantuan fight waiting for him that we all want to see. A matchup with Pacquiao would be the biggest fight in the sport by far. Even if it never happens, Mayweather still will go to the Hall of Fame, based on his unparalleled skill and defensive wizardry, a lengthy reign atop the pound-for-pound list and his winning titles in five weight classes.

Misses: In the long run, although the Hall of Fame will beckon and Mayweather has his glittering record, there will always be a sense of what might have been if he never fights Pacquiao. In the short run, Mayweather faces a slew of legal charges stemming from an alleged domestic violence incident in September that threaten his career and freedom.



3. SERGIO MARTINEZ
Middleweight champion
Record: 46-2-2, 25 KOs
Age: 36

Hits: In his past four fights, Martinez -- the consensus fighter of the year in 2010 -- has taken on the very best opponents available: Paul Williams (twice), Kelly Pavlik (from whom he won the middleweight championship) and Kermit Cintron. And Martinez isn't about to rest on his laurels, even though no fighter is more deserving of a soft touch. Instead of looking for an easy fight, Martinez will defend his title March 12 on HBO against perhaps the most dangerous opponent available -- junior middleweight titlist Sergei Dzinziruk. Despite being unknown in the United States, Dzinziruk is a formidable fighter with one of the best jabs in the game.

Misses: As good as Dzinziruk is, his style (at least on paper) does not seem to mesh well with Martinez's -- meaning we could get more of a technical boxing match than a rousing fight. We shall see.



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